Botanical Prints for Atlantic Hearts and Just Us Girls

I decided to ink up my Botanical Prints set again. I just love this set. I think it's the realistic images that appeal to me. Plus, I like the fact that the flowers can stand alone, or you can make a background - which is exactly what I did for this card. I stamped the flowers and berries in London Fog ink and then colored them with very pale shades. The color challenge was perfect as I kept to greys, with the touch of apricot and sage green.

Now... I needed a background. I wanted to keep it subtle so DSP was out. I didn't want to use an embossing folder... and I didn't have the right stencil. THEN... I had a brainwave... there are a couple of die-cuts that come with this set. I decided to use that as a stencil. I blended some Altenew grey ink over the stencil to give a soft background. I was really pleased with the way it turned out.

NoOf course, I couldn't help but use of the the little bees from the set! I also added a sentiment tab that comes with the set and used a stamp from an old go to set from YNS.

Here's my card:

On a personal note:

Happy International Women's Day to all my female blog readers. As it is a day to celebrate women, I thought I would take this opportunity to celebrate someone who I have grown to love and respect more and more in the years since she has been gone. Both my parents died when I was in my late 20s. They died less than 5 months apart. When I went home for Dad's funeral, I noticed that Mom was not her usual self and kept forgetting things. I put that down to stress. Two weeks later she was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer that had metastasized and was in her brain. It wasn't the stress that made her forgetful, it was the disease that she never disclosed to any of us. it was so typical of her not to say a thing and it really is a good job that Dad went before her; he would never have been able to cope.

There are so many things that I admire about my mother - more so now, than I did as a child. Mom really wanted to be a nurse but the war came and she gave up her dreams to become a "Woman of Steel". She was one of the women who went to work in the steel factories making armaments for the war effort. After my brother died, my sister in law handed me some photos. This one was amongst them. It was taken when Mom was on her way to work at the factory. Suit, gloves, oh.. those gloves.. they are EVERYTHING!

Mom never talked much about her time in the factories, but a few years ago, our town decided to honor those women who had taken over the backbreaking work of the men. Men who were off fighting to protect their families at home. Once they came back, the men took back their jobs and women went back to doing what they had done before. Mom went on to have 7 children - only to lose 5 of them.

When I was a young girl, Mom suffered terribly from depression and was hospitalized several times for shock treatment. I won't - and really can't - discuss the horror of that particular treatment. However, what I can tell you is that Mom worked so hard to pull herself back from the brink and went on to do what she had always wanted to do - look after and nurse others. Over the years, I have realized just how strong she must have been to fight her demons and wrangle them to the ground. Even today people find it hard to talk about mental illness, back then it was something you REALLY never talked about it.

What I didn't know until recently, is that she comes from a long line of very strong women. One of the joys of genealogy is being able to find out information about those that came before you. Luckily, Mom's side of the family have left a very long and interesting trail of paper work. I just wish that she had lived long enough for me to share all of this information with her. She would have loved knowing!

Anyway, on this day - I salute all women who fight for what is right - and for those women who came before us.... all the way back to Boadicea, who showed the Roman's what was what .... Hypathia, Mary Wollstonecraft, Florence Nightingale, Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Emmeline Pankhurst to Mother Theresa... Bessie Coleman, Harriet Tubman, Margaret Thatcher (sorry, Pam!), Wangari Maathai... my GGGG-Grandmother Sara Greenwood...and today to Greta Thunberg. So many women I could name that have inspired me through the years. My Mother may not have done great things that are recognized across history, but to me she will also be my hero.

Who is your female hero? I'd love to hear and love to be able to recognize them on this International Women's Day.

What a stunning card Jaydee! I love the soft stencilled background and the gorgeous botanical images on your tag, and the bee is the perfect finishing touch.

I am so touched by your mother's story. What a cruel world to expect women to be able to cope with the grief of losing five children without support. I salute your brave and strong mother and I can hear how proud you are to have come from such a strong line of women. I'm so sorry you lost her far too soon. Sending love, Vicky x

Stunning card...beautiful and such a lovely get well wish should inspire anyone that receives this card. Love the tribute you gave to women and found your story very interesting. Thanks for sharing with us at Color Dare.

Thanks, Vicky. It really is sad that women lost children in those days and it was never really spoken about and that medicine really knew so little about why it happened. We have come a long way since then, but I remember I found it very hard to talk about my own miscarriage when it happened.
Hugs
Jaydee